ABOUT US
Jesse Jessup and Amber McIntyre met in 1993 after two marriages each and a string of 'signs' brought them to The Ojai Foundation's hilltop in California! Their colourful backgrounds include many years of training in esoteric studies, wilderness guiding, complementary healing, communication and relationship practices, meditation, community building, and the creation and management of spiritual retreats. Their business, InnerFire, was birthed on The Big Island of Hawaii in 2005 during a 3-month respite after a 6 year stretch at The Ojai Foundation. They chose the name InnerFire as it refers to the light and truth that is within each of us. The retreats, quests, and workshops they facilitate together have the focus of encouraging a 'growing awareness' of that light. With one born in California and the other in South Africa, they now travel the world offering programs and are currently based in SA. Amber has a daughter, Michele and granddaughters, Charlotte and Sofia. Jesse has a daughter, Inanna.
AFFILIATIONS/HISTORY
They are members of the Flesh and Spirit faculty offering relationship retreats all over the world. They received years of training and apprenticed with Drs. Jack Zimmerman & Jaquelyn McCandless, authors of the book, Flesh and Spirit, the Mystery of Intimate Relationship. Amber and Jesse have been offering workshops in the USA and South Africa since 1999 and in 2008 they accepted an invitation to begin offering retreats in Europe.
Jesse and Amber are affiliated with The Ojai Foundation in California, an educational organization founded in 1979. It is an experiential learning community with the goal of providing Council-based programs and services to individuals, families, schools, non-profit organizations and corporations. [Council involves attentive listening and heartfelt expression]. Amber and Jesse received extensive training in The Way of Council during their time as members of the leadership team at TOF, and have been offering Council workshops internationally since 2001.
Amber and Jesse are co-creators with Georgina Hamilton Stevens of Bodhi Khaya Retreat, a 20-bed meditation sanctuary in the Overberg region of Southern Africa. BKR offers a beautiful, tranquil environment for group and individual retreats.
They are members of the Wilderness Guides Council, an international collective promoting the growth of wilderness passage rites education.
